


Sun, Ships, Spears, & Songs

by yitishprincess



Series: Sun, Ships, Spears, & Songs [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dorne Deserves Happiness, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Multi, Pirates, Romance, Strong Female Characters, Yi Ti
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-10-28 13:57:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20779718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yitishprincess/pseuds/yitishprincess
Summary: Mellario, unable to ingrain herself into Dornish society, leaves Doran before a chance of betrothal.Months later, a mysterious ship captain from Yi Ti catches Prince Doran's eye at the ports of Sunspear, and the entirety of Westeros changes.





	1. Chapter 1

_ **Year 274 A.C. in Sunspear of Dorne** _

The morning sun blanketed Sunspear with it's pale gold rays and gilded the walls, overtaking the dun-coloured structures.

Doran breathed in the air, thick with the scent of fresh fish, sandstone, and the salty sea as he trotted along the Winding Walls of Sunspear to the ports. He tightened his thighs over the saddle of his sand steed as Areo Hotah and a retinue of guards followed his path. The deep, sun-patterned gold surcoat hung over his burnt orange silk shirt and his equally supple silk trousers hid parts of the leather sandals strapped to his calves. A sword hung from the belt around his waist as he rode at a languid pace.

"Areo," he murmured, "we will wander the streets and ports until midday. My people have not seen me walk among them since my mother fell into illness."

"Yes, your Grace." Areo bowed his head. His thick black hair held back by a silk tie and his broad frame was clad in plate armour, adorned by the Martell's sun and spear.

They rode through the city at a slow pace and Doran stopped at times to speak with the people, examine the streets, and purchased silks and samite for his sister. He stopped at the edge of the ports closest to the end of the Winding Walls as he caught a glimpse of unfamiliar sails on the Summer Sea.

"Prince Doran!" A light-haired harbormaster greeted from a readied dock with a deft bow. His soft wood-brown eyes peeked out from beneath strands of his hair. "We did not expect your presence today, your Grace."

Doran smiled in acknowledgement. "I am merely observing my people upon a whim, Harbormaster. I did not expect welcome."

"As you wish, your Grace." He bowed once more.

Doran's eyes trailed over the port and to the Summer Sea where a gleaming but water-beaten Braavosi warship pulled into port by the aid of seven crew members dressed in variants of the deep night-blue of the YiTish sails hung from the masts. The slack of the sails hid the gold paint and Doran spotted a silhouette attached to the centre mast as the ship anchored into the port waters. The unfamiliar but beautiful deep-brown wood of the ship shone beneath the sunbeams—he had never seen a Braavosi ship made with such a deep, smooth wood.

The gangway settled onto the dock and a boy dressed similarly to the crew members anchoring the ship, stepped down the lacquered wood with trembling legs, veering to the water's edge. One of the crew members stepped away to soothe the boy. A noise of sympathy escape from the light-haired Harbormaster as he made his way towards the crew and waited until the boy finished heaving to speak. The crew members chattered on the dock once they finished tying in the ship, unconcerned.

"Welcome, travellers, to Sunspear, the capital of Dorne," the light-haired Harbormaster said, gesturing to the grand city behind him. "Before we allow you to remain in our city, I must request the manifest to your ship."

"Captain Jiang! We need the ship's manifest," a woman of YiTish descent, with thick ink-black hair and golden skin, called, hands cupped around her mouth.

The small silhouette attached to the ship’s centre mast slid down, leapt off, and twisted into a graceful landing like a cat onto the main deck. The captain, Doran presumed, strolled down the gangway. Trousers, black as the deep night, clung to long and lean legs like a second skin and a blue YiTish surcoat, darker than the blue of shade-of-the-evening, hung over a tight black tunic accentuating a slender waist and shapely figure. The clean lines of her form emphasised her polished appearance.

Doran had never seen a YiTish or Braavosi ship captained by a woman.

A girl, he corrected himself when he caught sight of her face.

Everything about her seemed dangerously graceful despite her youth as she walked upon the dock with soundless steps.

A golden dawn over the sand-brown deserts eclipsed her large, hooded but luminous catlike gaze, even starker against her lucent, moon-pale skin. Her delicate nose swept down in a slight slope, and high cheekbones lifted when her plush, full lips tilted into a half-smile, and her cheeks dimpled. Thick, midnight-blue hair curled at her hips and shone like a freshly polished blade, held back with a black silk ribbon. White bandages wrapped around her left arm and right thigh, and two blades, a thin Braavosi and curved YiTish, hung from the lush curves of her hips. 

He traced the slight amount of baby fat softening her delicate features. She was of an age with his younger siblings at best but captained a ship and it's crew.

An intriguing notion.

The girl, Captain Jiang, reached into her surcoat and procured a scroll rolled along a carved wooden dowel in the YiTish fashion. "The manifest, as requested."

"There isn't much here," the Harbormaster remarked after a moment's examination.

"The Rogue Dagger is an expedition ship, Harbormaster," Captain Jiang said. "We do not carry much after long periods of sea travel besides our own belongings."

"Of course," he said, "you wouldn't mind a search, then, Captain?"

"Not at all. Although, I insist you allow my crew to escort you around our ship. You see, here upon the manifest, there are unique circumstances."

The Harbormaster paled, his dark olive skin greying. "Yes. I would appreciate an escort."

"They will not do you any harm," the Captain assured. "Two of my crew members will remain while I conduct business in the city. They are all trained in disciplining them."

She spoke the Westerosi Common Tongue well enough with hints of a foreign accent but did not stumble over a single word; her articulate speech and accent rivalled Lord Paramounts and their families. Doran's gaze followed her smooth movements among her crew as she flitted between them, murmuring in low voices and in an unfamiliar language. One of the crew members handed her an empty wooden crate.

The Harbormaster stepped upon the gangway and strode up with two crew members, a woman and a man.

"Kin and Asura will stay on the ship and guide the harbormaster. I will relieve them of watch duty when I come back before midday." The Captain paused and turned to call out to the gangway. "There is fish in a barrel on the quarterdeck if they get too rowdy in my cabin. Do not allow them to cause trouble."

"Where are you heading, Captain?" the once seasick boy asked weakly.

"We need fresh supplies, Shi. Hiuna, Yira, and Sen will find room and board close to the port. Shi, follow Qiun and Fei when they come out onto the dock. We need supplies for repairs, ration replenishment, and grooming replacements. They have their instructions."

She stepped off the dock, onto the dusty bricked grounds of Sunspear, and Doran remained in place with his guards, Areo Hotah by his side, axe strapped onto his back. His sand steed stamped a foot and Doran soothed it with a soft pat. 

"You stand in the presence of Prince Doran Martell of Sunspear," a guard announced when she walked close enough.

The captain bowed lowly. “I ask for forgiveness for any offences committed, Prince Doran, I had not realised I stood in your way.”

"You have not offended me at all. I was merely resting," he lied smoothly. “May I have your name, captain?”

“Jiang Yuyan of Yi Ti,” she said and bowed her head again. “Apologies once more, Prince Doran, for blocking your path and taking up your time, but I'll stop imposing my presence upon you.”

"It is of no problem. Welcome to Sunspear, Captain Jiang." Her surname name rolled off his tongue, strange but smooth.

The girl bowed her head once more, her blue hair shimmering under the sun. "You honour me with such welcome, your Grace. Thank you, but I must leave to retrieve supplies for my crew."

He traced her slick steps as she wended through the crowd, ghost-like as she disappeared into the shadows cast by the Winding Walls.

His eyes returned to the Braavosi ship hung with deep blue YiTish flags; a snarling, gold mouth embroidered into the fabric.

* * *

The citizens of Sunspear's clamoured in the streets.

Yuyan cut into narrow alleys until she reached the bazaar at the heart of Dorne's capital. The pale brown of sandstone buildings emphasised the bright clothes of the people, the painted stands, and the spread of jewellery, fabrics, fruits, and wares sold by merchants in the square. She wandered deeper into the heart, wooden crate clutched to her chest, until she found fruit merchants from Dorne, the Reach, and Lys. The sandstone shops blended together by their stands and she pulled to the side of a Dornish fruit merchant; his stand full of lemons, oranges, figs, peaches, and an assortment she did not bother to further glance over.

"Apologies for the disruption, but may I ask for directions to Mir the Blacksmith's shop?" she asked. "And a single orange."

His eyes trailed over her, skeptical. "A single orange?"

"A single orange," she confirmed.

His thin fingers picked up one and handed it to her. "He's three shops down to your left. That'll be one copper groat."

She handed him a silver stag from her sleeve and took the orange from him with a bow of her head. "Thank you..."

"Esar Toland," the merchant provided his name with ease.

"Thank you for the directions, Merchant Toland."

She bowed her head, slipped back into the crowd, and dropped her orange into her crate. Yuyan followed his directions until she stopped before a stone barn with a single, bare-chested man at the forge full of fire, anvils to the side, and no apprentices in sight. She stood at the entrance of the forge before she knocked against the sanded stone walls. Mir the Blacksmith, she assumed, stopped his hammering and doused the spearhead in a bucket of water. He looked up with stark black eyes against the deep olive skin of salty Dornishmen and ink-black hair fell around his lined face. He would have been handsome and well-liked in his youth especially with the broad-shoulders and muscled arms.

"Hello, you are Mir the Blacksmith, correct?"

He grunted and beckoned her towards his work table. "And who are you?"

"Captain Jiang of The Rogue Dagger," she introduced politely. "Irti says you were the blacksmith I need for delicate knives and metal work, one of the best on this continent."

"Irti? Now that's a name I have yet to hear in years. What's a girl like you meeting men like that?"

"He owes me quite a few favors," she said idly and took out her orange to set it down on his counter. She put down the crate at her feet. "I would appreciate if you allowed me to look at your wares as he showed me some of your work. I found it impressive especially when he lent a knife to me to demonstrate the ability. I would like to commission quite a few things from you. I have not seen anyone beyond Yi Ti who has such delicate yet strong metalwork."

"And what's your commission, Captain?" he asked, voice lilting over the words.

She pulled out a piece of parchment from her surcoat and unfolded it onto his stone counter by the orange. The thin bones of several fans sketched over the slightly yellowed paper in deep black ink including measurements in Westerosi numbers and letters. Mir glanced over the sketches and made a noise of appreciation. 

"Can't say I've done it before but I can do it," he said, "anything else, Captain?"

"And your ready-made wares?"

"This way." He gestured. "One of my apprentices, Daro, is manning my shop."

Yuyan nodded and picked up her crate. She followed his steps, soundless as she ghosted behind him. He lead her into the shop next door of similar sanded stone lined with swords, spears, knives, and armour.

"Anything to your liking, Captain?"

She picked up a familiar set of knives bound in leather and hummed before weighing swords in her hands. Her fingertips skimmed over the sheathed daggers of thin steel—useful for slitting throats if she's ever seen one. Yuyan pinched a shield between her fingers and turned back towards the pair by the counter. "Sixty of your throwing knives, four daggers, three of your swords, two shields, the gauntlets your apprentice is currently polishing."

The apprentice's eyes widened and his soot-black lashes blinked rapidly as he stared at Yuyan, open-mouthed. He swung his head of equally dark hair towards his master and whispered something lowly. Yuyan sent him her most charming smile, dimpled and impish, before setting down her crate on the counter. The master took his apprentice's place behind the counter, shaking his head, and the boy began to fill her crate with the knives she requested.

"This would cost you ten dragons in total," Mir said.

Yuyan smiled. "Five for this and five for my commissions?"

He nodded tersely, eyes guarded and arms crossed.

"Ten dragons and fifteen silver moons," she countered.

Mir's brow furrowed. "This isn't how you barter, Captain."

"I will pay for what I receive today in full and half for the commissions," she said easily and placed the eighteen coins on his counter. "You shall receive the other half when the commissions are finished. Is your apprentice willing to deliver everything other than the knives and daggers for five silver moons?"

"You don't know how to hassle, girl." He shook his head. "And aye, the boy delivers."

"You know the price of your labour and wares, and I will accept it. I will not haggle for splendid quality," she said. "And I do intend to do business with you once more. If your apprentice does not mind, The Rogue Dagger at the Sunspear ports. We fly blue YiTish sails."

"With that kind of spending, you can come back any time, Captain."

She sent him a fleeting smile over her shoulder after she picked up her crate of sharp objects and cut through the crowd once more. Several eyes glanced over her but the smallfolk of Dorne did not question her nor did any guards stop her as she cut back through the Winding Walls and towards the Sunspear ports to relieve Asura and Kin of their ship-watching duty. She hauled the crate in her arms, heavy with metals, but rolled her shoulders until she stood once more before The Rogue Dagger and dropped the crate upon the ground.

"What do you have there, Captain?" Kin drawled as he stood up from his seat on the gangway.

"Replicas of that very beautiful knife I lodged into the neck of the corsair captain of the ship with silver sails." She picked one up and twirled it between her fingers. "It was such a shame it sunk deep into the Jade Sea."

Kin peered down at the crate. "Well, you've more than enough to make up for it now."

"Of course. Now, help me bring it up into my cabin."

"Yes, Captain Taskmaster," he said and picked up the crate with a grunt.

"I made you scrub the deck for being a terrible little vulture." She steadied the gangway for him as he walked up and followed him back up. "It was a well-deserved punishment."

"Is the Captain back?" Asura called out.

"Of course, it's before midday," Yuyan said mildly.

Kin dropped the crate in front of the doors to her cabin. "I'd go further, Captain, but they're clinging today."

"No worries. Explore the city and find a good meal," she said and patted them on the shoulders. She handed them two folded sachets which they took enthusiastically. "Do not fill yourselves too much. We plan to remain for quite a while and remind Hiuna that I will not board in the city tonight. Doubtless Zhira and Rui need supervision."

"Can't we bring them into the city?" Asura groaned.

"I do not wish to beat the day we found ourselves banned from the point of Leng," Yuyan said dryly.

"You're the reason why it happened." Kin scoffed.

Yuyan sent him an amused stare. "How much fish did Kin feed them, Asura?"

"Four, Captain." Asura smiled mischievously.

"And were they irritated?"

"Not at all but they had pounced upon him and licked his face relentlessly," she said.

The Captain of The Rogue Dagger smirked when Kin grumbled and bumbled down the gangway. Asura saluted before she followed her paramour down and coaxed him with quiet, teasing words. Yuyan glanced at her crate of knives and the barrel of fish on the quarterdeck; perhaps the knives would appreciate a different home other than her cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this, I say a big "fuck you" to canon as Dorne got the shitty end of the stick. Yes, this isn't the best I can do but I am SMASHING this out as fast as I possibly can before I lose my muse.
> 
> Reasons also included: Yi Ti/Leng sounds interesting as fuck, I'm Asian, I wanted more diversity in Westeros, Doran Martell would've definitely been sexy as fuck in his youth.
> 
> I've messed with the entirety of the canon timeline including when they were born.
> 
> Year 255: Doran Martell is born in Sunspear. Areo Hotah is born in Norvos.  
Year 258: Elia Martell is born in Sunspear.  
Year 259: Oberyn Martell is born in Sunspear. Yuyan Jiang is born in Yin.  
Year 262: Brandon Stark is born in Winterfell.  
Year 263: Eddard Stark is born in Winterfell.  
Year 265: Jaime & Cersei Lannister are born in Casterly Rock.  
Year 266: Lyanna Stark is born in Winterfell.  
Year 272: Doran Martell and Mellario meet.  
Year 273: Mellario leaves Dorne for Norvos. Areo Hotah joins the Martell household.  
Year 274: Obara Sand is born. Doran Martell and Yuyan Jiang meet.
> 
> And yes, she did just leave that orange there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My research on Doran, Elia, and Oberyn's mom was lacking and she wasn't dead during this time! Time to make adjustments (yes, I fixed it last chapter.)

** _Year 274 A.C in Sunspear of Dorne_ **

The empty crate sat over a black-wood chest carved with blossom trees, hints of blue paint worn away. The newest additions to her weapon cache filled the chest.

Yuyan lounged on her black chair, deep blue cushions sewn into the curved back and the flat seat, and signed off letters she planned to send back to Yi Ti and Braavos. She sighed as her two tigers bumped into her knees, huffing and whining, before she stood up and dragged her feet to the door to her cabin. They chuffed behind her. Zhira, bigger and bossier by far, bumped her head against Yuyan's rear while Rui, smaller and whinier, huffed and dragged his claws lightly against the lacquered wooden ground, enough to make sound but not gouge the floor.

"You need another person to play with you two," she grumbled and opened the door.

They shot past her onto the main deck like large orange arrows and huffed when she strolled behind them. Zhira knocked her head into Yuyan's stomach and she fell onto the ground with a grunt. The ship's captain latched onto the tiger's neck and swung around to hold on and the tiger began walking in circles, trying to shake Yuyan off. Rui swiped at her with retracted claws, smiling with his tongue out.

She nearly exhausted herself playing with them under the hot Dornish late afternoon sun until the gangway trembled with familiar steps.

"Hiuna, they want their bigger playmate," she called out.

The tigers circled her largest and oldest crew member when he stepped onto the ship. Hiuna was the size of a tree in height and muscle mass and had been since she met him five years ago when he was nine-and-ten. His rich golden skin rippled over his large muscles but despite his giant frame and rugged, sternly handsome visage, he was a kindhearted man who favoured the company of animals more than humans.

"Did these menaces rough you up, Captain?" He laughed, deep voice vibrating in his chest.

She rolled her eyes. "Rui tried to sit on me like he was still the size of a kitten when I laid down."

Rui bumped his head against her stomach at the mention of his name before rolling onto his back. She sat down and began roughly rubbing his stomach while Hiuna entertained Zhira by roughhousing with her. The large female cat retracted her claws and tumbled with the large man until he hugged her softly and she chuffed. Steps reverberated from the gangway and Rui rolled back over, crouching low, but relaxed when two figures walked into view. Qiun and Yira had returned to the boat with crates in their arms.

"Everyone else is settling in at the inn, Captain," Qiun reported.

She had a sharp beauty with narrow rust-brown eyes, high cheekbones, straight nose, and a perpetual sickle smile stretched across her pale face, all emphasised by the scarf she tied over her shoulder-length brown hair. The girl of nine-and-ten dressed in revealing, tight clothes of darker colours and fashioned herself to resemble a weapon readied to strike or a large black cat on the hunt. A curved short dadao blade and its leather sheath with a long strap slung across her back.

"But we're here with a quarter of the replenishments and supplies," Yira added. "The rest will come tomorrow."

The eldest girl at one-and-twenty had an elegance about her with her solemn brow, graceful long neck, and thick-lashed deep black eyes. She wore free-flowing silks and specially made fighting gowns from Yi Ti with double short swords strapped to her hips. Yira often pulled her russet brown hair back in complicated but secure styles which she decorated with hollow pins filled with poisons.

The entire crew of the Rogue Dagger, besides the newly added Shi, hoarded an arsenal of ways to kill and even the youngest of thirteen would learn soon enough under their terrible influence and tutelage.

"No need to rush, we will stay in Dorne for quite a while. I had a few things commissioned from a blacksmith here." She waved it off. "Now, Zhira and Rui need new victims."

The two girls eagerly set aside the supplies and joined her and Hiuna to with the tigers. They all entertained the two affectionate, well-loved tigers until dusk lowered the sun to the horizon.

Yuyan squinted her eyes at the orange-red skies and clicked her tongue. "Rui, Zhira, it's time to settle down."

The two large cats yawned and slinked through the open doors to the Captain's cabin, running their soft fur against her knees as they made way to rest on their soft beds tucked into the hidden corner in her cabin. She had banned them from sleeping in her bed on the opposite side since they tore her last one up by mere accident and they knew her rules.

"I will never find myself used to that," Qiun commented, blinking slowly. "I cannot believe you kidnapped two tiger cubs and bonded magically with them."

"They followed me onto the ship and hid in beneath the nets. How many times do I have to repeat it?" Yuyan paused. "And does anyone find themselves accustomed to magic? Even I find myself dumbfounded by magic when it appears."

"According to the Lengii who wanted your head for two years, you stole them," Yira muttered but Yuyan ignored that.

The God-Empress of Leng retracted the bounty on her head and it no longer counted as evidence.

"Wouldn't be magic if we grew used to it then, would it?" Hiuna agreed. "Well, Captain, if you need us we'll be at the Sun Road Inn. I'm sick of sleeping on ships."

"You're not the only one." Yira stretched out.

Yuyan hummed and pulled up the gangway when they left. She slid into her cabin and shut the door before the starry night descended upon Sunspear. 

* * *

The YiTish Captain's catlike golden-brown eyes pursued Doran's thoughts long after he left the port.

He woke with the sun and rose from his bed. After a quick and cold wash, Doran donned a duller deepened orange silk shirt under a red surcoat and pale beige silk trousers tucked into black boots, forgoing a coronet. He strapped a short sword to a belt over his surcoat.

"We will walk through the streets once more, Areo," Doran said.

Areo's brow furrowed slightly but he nodded and began gathering a retinue of guards for their early morning excursion. He nodded when they began following him on foot as he left the Tower of the Sun of the Old Palace to the city streets.

He walked among the commons, clasping wrists and conversing with them, but he carved through the city. The people greeted him with an unflinching enthusiasm and once more followed the long path through the Winding Walls to the ports of Sunspear with his guards behind him.

Captain Jiang stood on the docks two of her crew members stepped onto the main deck of The Rogue Dagger. She wore a fresh sea-blue silk tunic tucked into ink-black silk pants and her swords hung from a supple leather belt. A silk tie held back the top half of the thick, blue-black cloud of loose curls and her moon-pale skin glowed beneath the sunshine. For a ship's captain, she dressed in a strangely luxurious fashion but she was undoubtedly from the further east and the Golden Empire of YiTi earned its name through its rich nature and its trade of silks, jewels, and precious metals.

She stepped off the dock once he and his retinue of guards blocked her path.

"Prince Doran." She bowed. "Apologies, your Grace. I did not mean to step into your path."

"I do not require any apologies for a simple mistake," he said, "I wished to speak with you, Captain Jiang."

Startled golden-brown eyes met his and she observed him through his guards for a moment, gaze sharpening. "Of course, your Grace."

His guards parted for her to fall in step beside him and Doran slowed his stride to match her shorter steps as he examined her. The Captain reached his shoulder, at best, but he was a tall man at six feet, having taken after his late father, Mors Gargalen of Salt Shore.

"You are the Captain of The Rogue Dagger?"

"Yes, your Grace," she answered, her voice clear as glass but soft as the white, puffed summer clouds in the sky. "I thought it would be a common sight in Dorne. A woman in command of a ship."

"It is a common sight," he said, "but not one so young as you."

She smiled but it did not dimple her cheeks. "Age does not bind us to expectations."

"No, I suppose it does not." He was but nine-and-ten and yet his mother left the shadow-puppeting of Dornish rule in his hands when she fell ill. "And how did you come by your wounds?"

“Corsairs and slavers,” she said. “Such is the dangers of sea travel, your Grace.”

He accepted it for a moment. "What brings you to Sunspear, Captain?"

"A recommended blacksmith," she answered with a guarded gaze. "I heard Sunspear was the home to many talented smiths. If I may ask, Prince Doran, do all visitors to Sunspear receive such an effusive welcome from you?"

He smiled at the hidden jab. "Not without reason, Captain Jiang."

"And is there a reason I am receiving one?"

"Interest," he answered simply.

She tilted her head and the waves of her hair shifted, catching the light. "I suppose a girl of five-and-ten captaining a ship would evoke intrigue to most beyond the Jade Seas."

"Are young ship captains common in Yi Ti?" He met her shrewd gaze with a hint of a smile. "Westeros keeps many tales of the Golden Empire and its God-Emperors but we do not know much about your people. I have not heard much about the daily lives of the YiTish outside of their trade."

"I am the youngest yet," she informed him, less tense and perhaps aligning her perception of his interests towards her origins and homeland. Her moon-pale skin did not bend to the sunlight, neither reddening or darkening. "But there have been many at six-and-then and seven-and-ten. The Azure Emperor encourages...excellence among his subjects."

"An admirable quality in a ruler," he said. "And what have you seen of Sunspear? What do you think of Dorne?"

"I have not seen much, your Grace," she replied. "The climate of Dorne is much drier than I expected but a preferred surprise as I have found humid weather does not suit anyone but I have not seen enough of your lands to truly give judgement or opinion."

A political, polished answer one would never expect from a young girl or ship's captain and she walked with such deadly grace he could not help but note after observing her noiseless movements, unbroken even by the skintight trousers.

"Do you intend to visit the Water Gardens? They are the pride of Dorne and many find peace and joy there. We welcome all outsiders to the grounds."

"I may," she allowed. "Pardon my impertinence, do you often wander the streets of your city, your Grace?"

They turned a corner into a more quiet street and his guards shifted their positions to allow for no weaknesses. Captain Jiang didn't acknowledge them or glance in their direction and matched his steps with her soundless ones. She kept her stare forward or flickering towards him.

"I have taken to appreciating the milder weather," he said, "it brings my people great joy to see those of my house walking among them."

She hummed. "All commons delight in seeing their royals."

His lips twitched and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "It assures them. Tell me, Captain Jiang, when and where were you injured?"

"It is a story you have probably heard many times." She caressed the bandage over her arm. "We sailed through the waters of the Stepstones and pirates attacked my crew when we made it past. I believe they thought we would be easy prey but do not worry, we did not lure any to your shores as they're unable to pursue us."

There. The steel embedded in her spine, but the sands of her thoughts shifted and hid it beneath the dunes once more.

“Perhaps you should rest within the walls of Sunspear until your wounds heal.” He shifted his dark eyes upon her. "Pirates have taken to the Summer Sea and near the waters of the Broken Arm."

Yuyan smiled secretly and bowed. “Unfortunately, Prince Doran, I believe Dorne would not welcome a few inhabitants of my ship. If I may take my leave of you, your Grace?"

"Of course. Thank you for your company, Captain Jiang."

She disappeared once more into the crowds of the Sunspear streets and Doran's gaze slid up her slender form, considering, before he turned to the captain of his guard. Areo's keen, knowing stare bore into him and a smile tilted the man's full lips. Doran made his way back to the Old Palace and the Tower of the Sun for a much needed midday meal, the Captain of The Rogue Dagger's words and catlike, golden-brown eyes milling about in his head.

* * *

Yuyan returned to The Rogue Dagger to wash herself and change her clothing.

She wore a cream tunic made of thin, flowing fabric tucked into trousers of a similar colour and tied her hair back in a single, thick braid. The winding streets of Sunspear became easier to navigate with time and charming the commons until she stood before the Sun Road Inn. She entered the quiet but well-kept establishment and shut the door behind her once inside.

"Captain!" Kin greeted from a long, sanded stone table. His thick-lashes fluttered, obscuring the umber brown irises and his middle-length, black hair brushed the edges of his strong jawline. His sheathed jiar sword hung from his left side. "We have plans."

"Oh? Tell me about them." She swept her stare over her crew lounging around the table and took the empty seat between Asura and Fei.

Asura's face held a long-lasting girlhood beauty of soft, innocent features that contrasted her mischievous demeanour, and she wore softer colours and more feminine clothes to emphasise her gentle visage, weapons hidden in her clothes. She kept her black-brown hair in a crown braid out of convenience and left her fluttering, brown eyes unhindered by any strands. Fei, on the other hand, wished to look the part of a daring YiTish warrior with her hair kept in a high tail and highlighting her black, fox-like eyes with kohl. She rouged her lips with a stain darker than blood and kept her bronze-tinted skin free of powder. She wore boiled leathers and clad herself with daggers and knives and swords for all the world to see.

And the world did see.

All the inhabitants of the inn kept glancing their way—green, blue, and brown eyes followed them. She caught two women, both salty Dornish, and several men of varying descent staring too long at them but YiTish people were not a common sight in Westeros, much less nine of them gathered in one place, but the hairs on the back of her neck rose nonetheless. Many of the other occupants wore plain colours, and five occupants wore either the red, orange, and yellow of House Martell and Dorne. A man lingered in the back, a few by the door, but no one stepped in their way.

"There are training grounds beyond the shadow city," Yira said.

"I bought some horses and a wheelhouse to travel," Fei chimed in. "They're waiting at the inn stables."

Yuyan glanced back. "Shi still needs training in the art of weaponless combat."

The boy paled and grabbed the person next to him. "S-Senni can train me!"

"Tsk, tsk." Asura wagged her finger. "Everyone else but Hiuna had the Captain beat them into shape. It's your turn, Shi."

Sen forced Shi to release his tunic sleeve finger by finger. His shark-like grin at the boy's terrified expression didn't suit his soft prettiness of skin paler than hers, wavy black locks, and pale gold eyes. "It's something we all experience and it becomes worse the more you avoid it."

"The only reason why Hiuna wasn't beat into shape is because he's always been gigantic." Kin snorted as he stood up. "You can't get out of this, green boy."

"I can train you in place of the Captain," Hiuna offered on their way out of the inn.

"That would be fun to watch," Qiun commented.

Shi's wide sand-brown eyes flickered between Hiuna and Yuyan, and a wounded noise clawed its way out of his throat. He was taller than everyone but Hiuna, Kin, and Qiun despite being the youngest and the baby-fat still clung to his features despite his lankiness.

"Perhaps both should be an option," Yira said with a wide grin.

"Please train me Captain," Shi said miserably.

Everyone snickered as they entered the stables attached to the Sun Road Inn. Yuyan glanced back at the inn but allowed her crew to lead the way.

She saddled a fully black sand steed that Fei lead to her and mounted it. Fei took a pale brown palfrey and Hiuna rode the ruddy-red rounsey. Asura and Qiun relegated Shi, Kin, Yira, and Sen to the wheelhouse while they took the rounseys attached and mounted them.

They trotted along the Winding Walls until they reached the path leading them to the shadow city and wended through the long paths.

"We're almost there," Fei called out from her place at the front.

"Thank god, we are being baked in here!" Sen shouted.

"Be quiet, pastries do not speak," Asura said.

"My love, I will no longer be delicious if you overcook me in this wheelhouse." Kin stuck his head out the window.

"Perhaps we can take Zhira and Rui in the wheelhouse and let them exercise in the shadow city or training yard," Yuyan mused as she glanced around and ignored her melodramatic crew members. "They grow restless on the ship."

"We can try, Captain," Hiuna agree, eyes glinting. No doubt thinking of the types of games he could play with so much free reign.

When they reached the abandoned training grounds, Quin and Sen overtook the others in setting up while the rest grumbled and fell into step with Yuyan. She wound up her braid into a low bun with another ribbon procured from her surcoat before she shedded the unnecessary layers and left them in the wheelhouse.

Yuyan lead her crew into the centre of the training yard and began running them through stretches as they groaned and muttered their complaints. Her legs extended until they paralleled the ground and she flowed into a standing position and folded herself in half, hands grasping her ankles. She straightened once more and crouched on one leg, the other pointed outwards, and she switched legs once the burdened leg burned.

"Captain, slow down," Asura whined.

"Keep up!" she replied cheerfully and shot up. "We have a month to compensate for."

"Shut your mouth," Yira hissed, "she'll go even faster to spite us!"

She rolled her ankles to loosen them and rotated her arms, milling them in circles until she heard a crack, and she twisted her body to each side. Yuyan ran through the previous stretches once more but quicker and repeated it five times until her limbs felt looser. Her crew whimpered behind her and she stared at them in amusement.

"Get up," she commanded.

They all obeyed with varying degrees of whining.

"Qiun, Sen, I know you finished with the preparations. You can take your time with the stretches." Her lips twitched at the glares the other crew members sent them. "Hiuna, Fei, spar with each other today. Fei needs to improve her combat abilities against much larger opponents and Hiuna still lacks in defensive abilities against quick, small opponents. Asura, Kin, do not think I have not noticed you become short of breath in less time now. Thirty circuits around the yard. Yira, run through the fifty stances. I know you haven't practised and you've become off-balanced."

"Tyrant," Kin muttered but began a slow run behind Asura around the yard.

"Captain, you should force them to keep up with you," Hiuna suggested teasingly.

"Don't encourage her!" Asura shouted.

Yira moved next to Qiun and Sen as they began their stretches while Hiuna and Fei moved outside of the training yard to begin their spar.

Yuyan turned to the last crew member left unaddressed. "Shi, are you ready to spar?"

The boy's shoulders slumped, his curly black hair tied back in a low tail and strands left to frame his soft, youthful face. "Yes, Captain."

"Blood stance," she instructed.

He slipped into stance, front knee bent and back knee straight. His arms staggered in front of him and all fingers pressed together like a flat blade. "Blood stance, Captain."

She matched his blood stance, less tense and more fluid, while keeping an eye on Yira, Qiun, and Sen. "You may call it."

"Begin," he said.

She went on the offensive without hesitation and struck him with the speed of a viper. He blocked her first strike with his forearm but she struck through his defences, fingers digging into his stomach before she pulled back. Shi sucked in a breath and pressed his lips together before they began circling each other with quick side-steps. His right knee twitched and he lunged forward but she crossed her arms over each other. She blocked his strike and used his out-stretched arm to throw him off-balance before she kicked out his feet from him.

"Dead," Yuyan said, finger pressed into the soft of his neck when he stopped stumbling.

If she had landed true, he would be a corpse on the ground. She pulled back and circled him again, steps soundless against the dusty ground. Shi followed her steps again, shoulders tense and hands tightened into fists. She glanced over at Yira when she slid into dragon stance.

"Do not think as others do," she advised, "what would Kin do if I had attacked him so?"

"Block and aim to knee your...." Shi trailed off before he attacked once more.

Yuyan laughed and blocked his assault with fast strikes to his arms, knocking them off course. "Yes, he would fight dirty and aim to put all his strength behind his blows in an attempt to end a fight quickly. Would I have considered it as something to defend myself from?"

"You consider everything, Captain."

She accepted the answer with a dip of her head and blocked his testing strikes. "What would I do against my current defence?"

"I don't know!"

"And why is that?"

"No one knows what you would do," he said, disgruntled when she pinched the skin next to the other deadly spot on his neck and danced away. "You never react to anything the way we expect and you're too fast."

"There is your answer," Yuyan replied. "Do not let your opponent predict your movements or understand you. Fight with an exceptionalism. Strike with the swiftness of wind, the strength of a tiger, and the cunning of a snake. If you sparred with another, you would surely find yourself a winner but as we train you, we know your weaknesses. As you should know ours and take advantage of them."

"You don't have any weaknesses!"

"None that you can exploit with your current abilities," she corrected, laughing. "Now, that does not mean you must replicate our fighting styles, but the base remains the same."

He broke his stance and struck out at her with an open palm. She twirled around him and hit several points on his arms lightly. Shi followed her with several strikes and her fingertips jabbed into him at rapid speed while she pulled out of reach and swept back in when he least expected it. He didn't manage to land a single hit upon her person as she wove around him like water but as quick as lightning. Her blows blurred and she pulled back. Shi pursued her. He threw out a fist at her, all of his strength heaved into the punch.

"A good idea but you must understand the rules before you break them," she reminded him. Yuyan side-stepped him, grabbed his wrist, and used his own weight to throw him to the ground. "A balanced centre. Think upon it while you run thirty circuits with Yira around the yard. When you finish, we will spar once more and I will guide you into a more unpredictable but solid style."

"Thirty laps and another spar?" he said and pushed himself up onto his elbows, voice strangled.

The sandy dirt dusted his clothing and smudged his cheek as he stared up at her with betrayed eyes.

"You should know that Master Jiu, the Captain's training master, was much more strict." Qiun sidled up beside them, done with her stretches, and patted Shi's back when she pulled him up. "He made her run one hundred laps around her family's castle once a day to prepare to spar. I would know. I watched from my window once and counted each one."

Sen snorted. "He also made her carry buckets of rice up to the villagers in the mountains once a sennight before dawn."

Shi stared at Yuyan in horror.

"Would you like to attempt it?" She smiled, cheeks dimpling. "We can surely find something to replace the mountains in difficulty."

He stood up and followed Yira around the training yard for thirty circuits, refusing to look at Yuyan as she laughed and dragged Qiun and Sen to the centre to spar beneath the wan sun of early evening. They would return to inn and ship before the sky grew dark but for now, Yuyan lead her crew through a much needed on-land training session after their month of sea travel.


	3. Chapter 3

_ **Year 274 A.C in Sunspear, Dorne** _

Doran sat at the desk sequestered in a corner of his solar, the sun gilding every inch of the room with its warmth.

He set aside his latest scroll addressed to his Uncle Tremond Gargalen at Salt Shore and wiped off his quill on a handkerchief. A scratch at his door stayed his hand from the wet ink pot and he set down his dry quill by the new, untouched scroll kept open with a wooden block on his ochre-stained desk. He smoothed his surcoat and set his features into a neutral expression.

"You may enter," he said.

The door opened to reveal a young, stony Dornishman with blue-green eyes and sandy brown hair. Eddan Sand, a bastard from House Fowler, and a squire belonging to House Martell. The boy of eight-and-ten entered the room, dressed in plain and unassuming clothes.

"The Rogue Dagger's crew plan to enter the shadow city, my Prince," Eddan Sand said, "they spoke of the open training grounds the guards abandoned ten years ago. A crew member said they bought horses and a wheelhouse to train in combat everyday while they remained in Sunspear."

"Did they notice your presence?"

Eddan lowered his head. "A girl matching the description of the Captain Jiang stared at me for quite a while. I believe she knows she is being watched."

Doran nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you, Eddan. You may retire for the day."

"Thank you, your Grace." Eddan bowed and slipped out of the room.

Doran crossed his legs and leaned back into his chair. The training grounds out in the shadow city paled to the ones inside of the Old Palace for the guards and army belonging to House Martell and never had any man living in Westeros seen the YiTish in combat despite their famed abilities on the battlefield. He should like to at least catch a glimpse of their abilities if only to satiate his interest of the Far East or so he convinced himself. She had come to his port nursing wounds and speaking of corsairs; she undoubtedly knew of combat along with those under her command and such a topic courted his fascination.

He took up his quill once more. 

* * *

Yuyan leapt down from her ship's gangway and landed onto the port gracefully in the late morning.

The pale sun beat on her back and warmed her head, leaving it almost scorching to the touch. She wore a lighter, airy tunic and matching trousers over sandals in the Dornish fashion with her hair held back in a half crown braid. Hianu was the only one able to still look at her without fearing for his life or the tenderness of his limbs when she had left their crew at the inn yesterday, all groans and grumbles and stumbling in exhaustion from their training session. Yuyan strode off the port and stopped when a sand steed with a fine black coat and golden mane stopped before her with a knight in thin chain-mail atop of it. He unseated himself and landed on his feet, the horse's reins still in hand as he reached into his surcoat.

“Hello, Ser," she greeted warily, taking a step back. "Is there a reason why you stopped before me?"

"Hello, Captain Jiang. I am Ser Myles Sand, sworn to House Martell." He bowed, black hair falling into his black eyes, and held out a scroll for her. “Prince Doran extends an invitation to you for a private dinner with him in the Tower of the Sun.”

She took the scroll and ran her finger over the crimson wax seal emblazoned with House Martell's coat of arms. "Thank you, Ser. Is there a set time?"

"The prince takes dinner before dusk sets upon the skies. He expects your presence." He bowed before stepping off the port and mounting his sand steed.

The horse's tread kicked up dust as he left and Yuyan rolled the scroll between her fingers, wondering if a ship's captain could escape a Prince's invitation to dinner with an excuse of having eaten fish left a day too old turning her stomach. What could he possibly want after speaking to her along the streets of Sunspear? She had evaded answering any of his questions with anything meaningful and kept everything vague as possible.

"Oh, Yuyan, what in the thousand gods did you get yourself into?" she muttered to herself before she opened the scroll.

_ Dear Captain Jiang, _

_ Despite the lack of words exchanged between us the other day, I cannot help but find myself intrigued by your story and your homeland. Yi Ti still remains a fascinating land to a man born in Westeros and has never stepped further east than Qohor. I would ask for your presence at the Tower of the Sun to dine with me and to speak together once again in a more comfortable, quiet setting where I may appreciate your words. My guards at the gates of the Old Palace will guide you to my solar where I earnestly await your presence. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Prince Doran Martell. _

Yuyan pursed her lips and rolled up the scroll before she tucked it into the inner pocket sewn into her trousers. While she wished to appear before him in her simple tunic and trousers, she suspected the Westerosi could take it as an insult if she did not attend a private dinner with the Prince of Dorne in court appropriate attire and she had forgotten how to dress alone for court.

The heart of the city held the fruits she craved and she could fetch the girls from the Sun Road Inn—they were too sore to run from her, anyway. 

* * *

The Rogue Dagger's Captain's cabin bustled with the fussing of several loud voices.

Yuyan sat on her chair, bemused, as Qiun and Asura flickered around and brought out all sorts of dresses she hid in the chests and crates scattered along the room's edges. Fei set down a small, hand-carved chest of black wood on Yuyan's desk while Yira tucked herself in another seat and nursed a cup of wine to her lips. She sipped delicately while Qiun set down a dress of sea blue before Yuyan.

"Should I fear for my life?" Yuyan asked Yira when Asura picked it up and set it back into the chest by her bed. Qiun scoffed. "If you leave my cabin in a mess, I will make you run two hundred circuits beneath the sun at the heat of noon."

Asura quickly folded the dress neatly and set it inside a chest with a gentleness.

Yira shrugged. "I have wine. I fear nothing."

"Why is the Prince of Dorne inviting you to dine with him, Yuyan?" Fei flickered through the powders, pigments, and rouges she pulled out. "You won't need any of this powder and you're too ghost-like for anything I have. My healthy glow would look ridiculous on you. Let's just smudge kohl around your eyes. A little. It'll make you look more catlike than you already do."

"I do not know." Yuyan swiped Yira's wine and took a sip before offering it back with an innocent smile. "He worded his letter with enough information to seem inviting and open but with enough vagueness I will have to find out myself. He does not need me to tell him of Yi Ti when there are maesters at the Citadel who know enough of our ways. The Westerosi do not ask questions about us."

"Maybe he noticed the prettiest girl in all of Yin." Qiun wiggled her brow suggestively.

"We can always sail back to Yi Ti if he tries anything and you...." Fei slid her finger across her throat. "These Westerosi are all terrified of sailing past Old Valyria."

Asura hummed. "I think she's more likely to kill him in a way she can frame someone else for it."

“I think his entire household knows who he is meeting with,” Yira said, “killing him right now would be a bad move even if he did try to hurt her.”

"I doubt that's what he wants." Yuyan tapped on the indigo fabric laid out of her writing desk but Qiun snatched it away with a withering look sent to Asura. "My instincts say he's a decent enough man but what he wants to speak to me about? I have no guesses."

"Then what does he want?" Yira's brow furrowed.

"I suppose I’ll find out when I dine with him."

The girls exchanged looks.

“He is handsome,” Asura said slyly.

Fei smirked. “Enough that our Captain isn’t protesting him inconveniencing her.”

“He is the Prince of Dorne.” Yuyan rolled her eyes. “Am I supposed to disrespect him on his own lands where he can order my death?”

“I’m sure that’s what you’re worried about.” Qiun patted Yuyan’s shoulder. "Like you didn't escape death several times."

Yira lifted her goblet of wine. “The prettiest girl in all of Yin will steal the Prince of Dorne right from beneath the nose of the Dornish. She is, after all, the greatest thief we know.”

Yuyan threw an old quill at her, aiming for the wine, and they all laughed when Yira gulped it all down with a smug grin. The familiar itch of curiosity tickled the back of Yuyan's neck as she subjected herself to Qiun and Asura's argument of which dress and what color was appropriate to wear to a private dinner with the Prince of Dorne.

* * *

Doran sunk into the thick cushions of his chair and a silk pillow kept his back straight as he waited for his guest.

He would not take offense if she did not show but the thought disappointed him, although, he doubted she would not appear. She did not lack sense and a Prince’s invitation held the expectations of compliance which he hoped motivated her to attend the private dinner. He adjusted his black silk pants. Elia had chosen his surcoat emblazoned with golden suns over a burnt orange samite and an open chest tunic of gold silk, all held together by a belt closed with the House Martell sun and spear.

“Prince Doran, your guest, Captain Jiang of The Rogue Dagger, has arrived.” Areo announced from the door.

He composed himself and let out a small breath, smoothing out his trousers. “Please, let her through.”

Captain Jiang walked through the arching doors leading into his solar and he stared at her, eyes tracing over her appearance.

A night blue silk dress clung to her slender but generous figure with long slits along the sides but skin tight silk trousers of a similar colour clung to her lithe legs, a hint of the curves flashed from beneath the dress as she passed by his guard into his solar. Gold flowers scattered along the cuff of her sleeves and across her shoulder. The Braavosi and YiTish sword hung from her side, held in place by a black leather belt slung across her hips. A black ribbon held back the top half of her hair but left the rest free.

"Prince Doran." She bowed. "Thank you for the invitation."

He waved the formalities away. "Please, sit."

She sat in the well-cushioned chair across from him at the table, and adjusted her swords.

"The servants are bringing dinner but they have prepared tisanes for us." He gestured to the two steaming cups before them. “Was the journey to the Tower of the Sun from the ports enjoyable?”

She smiled politely. “It was beautiful but rather sparse of people compared to the markets and bazaars.”

He hid a smile behind his tisane. “I would hope you enjoyed your trip regardless.”

“I did,” she said.

She picked up her tisane, eyes trailing over the furniture in his solar before she met his eyes again. Kohl darkened the rims and emphasized the sharpness and the deep golden-brown.

"You have questions," he said.

She surveyed him over her tisane. "It is not often the Prince of Dorne takes audience with a commoner."

"It is not often a commoner is on an expedition journey from Yi Ti to Westeros. Dorne, least of all." He set down his tisane after a sip. “I had thought to trade stories or information over tisane and a meal. You are of interest to me, Captain, as I have never met anyone of Yi Ti who was not a merchant at a market. A young girl captaining a ship is even more fascinating.”

“Trade stories or information, your Grace?” she echoed.

“I toured the Free Cities not long ago,” he said, “perhaps they are of some interest to you as you might wish to visit them.”

“I plan on visiting some I have not seen,” she acknowledged. “It is an interesting trade you offer, your Grace.”

He placed his tisane in front of him. “Then, perhaps you would like to start?”

Captain Jiang tapped the table and she stared over his shoulder, out the archways of his balcony of his solar. “What would you like to hear, Prince Doran?”

"We had never thought to sail to Yi Ti for the waters are often fraught with treachery beyond Old Valyria,” he said. "There are many stories from the Jade Sea and Yi Ti from those who travelled there but none are confirmed by the YiTish who have traded here. Perhaps you could tell me more of your home."

“My home?” She tapped the table, thoughtful as her gaze shifted back to him. “Yi Ti is sectioned with many different cultures and beliefs. As contrasting as Dorne is to the Northmen of Westeros.”

"And where do you come from?"

"The Great City of Yin," she said. She hesitated for a moment before she spoke again, softer. "It's a port city and how I learned to captain a ship. Although, I did not become a captain immediately. It was at my crew's behest to take the title."

"I have read about Yin," Doran said, "but not much is known despite the great population and wealth."

"The Emperors have taken great care to not allow outsiders to leave with much knowledge. It is rare for anyone this far west of Old Valyria to even travel to Yi Ti but it has happened. A few men from the Citadel came years ago." She smiled wryly. "They did not leave with much."

"And is it a common practice for young girls to become ship captains in Yin?"

Her plush lips twitched. "No, but most girls take part in learning the art of war and combat and since we are a port city, we often learn how to command ships by the harbour. Noble families in Yi Ti often begin training their children at....what is the phrase here? Namedays. Once a child sees four namedays they are given a tutor and a...master-at-arms. It has become common enough practice that even merchants took to the custom several years ago."

"Four namedays? That is...awfully young."

"Certain styles of combat from Yi Ti require the body to be molded from youth and maintain the flexibility found in children," she said, "girls are taught a form of combat to aid in the dance of swords which requires the ability to move fluidly."

He sipped at his own tisane. "An interesting divergence from Westerosi culture."

"I was under the impression Dorne encourages their womenfolk to take up the dance of swords and spears."

"My people enjoy sparring, men and women alike, but we begin training at eight at the youngest."

"Four namedays has been our way since the death of the Indigo Emperors." She picked up her own tisane to polish off what remained. "Many choose different paths but the art of war is always open to them."

"So, you are trained in combat?" he pressed.

"One could say so, your Grace," she allowed. 

He smiled and set down his empty cup. "Perhaps you would like to hear something I have learned upon my travels in the Free Cities?"

"We plan on sailing to Pentos after Sunspear, your Grace," she offered.

Doran held his hands over the table. "Pentos is a grand port city of walls. There are some similarities between Sunspear and Pentos as we use sanded stone. I found it rather boisterous during the day with the streets full of song and I would not carry a weapon openly as many bravos walk the streets."

The Captain smiled, a bit mischievous. "There is no need to warn me of the bravos, your Grace, I have encountered many as has my crew when we visited in Braavos."

"You have visited Braavos but not Pentos?" he asked curiously.

"Braavos has opportunities Pentos does not and their ships are much more sturdy." She peered at him, almost relaxed. "Is there anything else you might tell me about your time in Pentos, your Grace?"

"The bazaars are always overfull with people, even more so than the ones here," he said, "they deal with many rare treasures such as dragonbone. I have the name of a merchant if you are interested."

"Thank you, your Grace, one of my crew is an archer." Her smile turned appreciative now. "Forgive my impertinence, your Grace, but before I travelled to Dorne, was under the impression your mother, Arianne Martell, still ruled."

"She still sits upon the Sunchair," he said, "but my mother wishes to prepare me for my future role as the Prince of Dorne."

The Captain nodded, eyes sharp once more. "I do not hear your people rioting in the streets so you must have filled her place well enough."

"Thank you for the compliment." He smiled dryly.

A scratch at the door interrupted them and servants walked in with their dinner. They set out thick slabs of grilled whiskerfish and snake with a dragon pepper glaze, flatbread with several spreads, and grape leaves stuffed with dragon peppers, onions, mushrooms, and several greens. He had not known what the YiTish preferred to eat but according to the Sun Road Inn cooks, they ordered the heavily seasoned food of their people. They left a jug of sour Dornish wine but she did not look towards it and he poured himself a cup. He began to eat, preferring silence while he dined, and he suspected Captain Jiang appreciated the quiet.

She ate delicately after he started and he noted her fine table manners and deft hands around the silverware as she ate small portions of everything, out of politeness or genuine enjoyment, he could not tell yet. Her thick inky lashes hid her golden-brown eyes as he traced his eyes over the gleam of her curls under the dying sunlight. He ate slowly, if only to drag out their time spent together more. The Captain was much more reserved than he was used to and had yet to even ask for his time beyond what he had asked of her; she had not even asked him to call her by name despite how much words they exchanged.

When she seemed satiated enough, he called for the servants and they cleared the table. He watched her between their moving arms and smiled slightly when she caught his stare.

"How was your trip from Yi Ti to the waters of Westeros?" he asked when the servants disappeared through the doors.

Her eyes slid back to him. "Besides the corsairs and slavers, uneventful, your Grace. I believe we received even less attention from them than typical ships due to us flying the YiTish flags."

"And did you see Old Valyria?"

"It is hard to miss," she said, "but we did not stop there. We have not found an inoculation for grey plague and have no wish to spread it. The waters were not as rife with ghosts or demons as everyone claims."

They spoke of very little beyond platitudes then, something which disappointed him greatly, but he let her withdraw.

She glanced out the windows. "I believe it is time I left, your Grace, for I have imposed on your generosity long enough."

"Before we part ways, you had said that you could not stay in my city in fear of upsetting my people. What inhabitants of your ship do you believe my people would not appreciate?” he asked. "I have seen your crew and I do believe that my people are not adverse to foreigners."

“Apologies for my insolence, your Grace,” she said, “but I believe you will need to see it to believe me.”

He smiled over the rim of his wine goblet. “Perhaps I would see your inhabitants tomorrow.”

"It would be an honour to host you upon my ship tomorrow." She bowed her head.

"Will you need an escort through the city?" He stood up and set down his goblet on wine.

"Thank you for the kind offer, Prince Doran, but it is of no need." She smiled, the sunset warming her pale skin in shades of pink and burnt orange. "The city of Sunspear holds much less danger than any of the Free Cities or the Slaver Cities."

The breath caught in his throat left as he watched her disappear from the doors of his solar with a guard.

* * *

Yuyan held her pillow to her chest as she laid on the brothel bed, much better than an inn, surrounded by the Rogue Dagger's female crew members.

"How was it?" Fei urged.

Qiun tossed a pillow at Yuyan. "Come on, talk! You sat down with the Prince of Dorne for dinner."

She pressed her lips together when Yira laid her head at the curve of her waist and shook her head. "We talked about nothing."

"Complete horseshit." Asura snorted and shook her. "You talked about something or you wouldn't be so cagey."

"You know we're not asking about that," Yira said and glared at Asura for jarring her resting place. "What was he like? We saw him at the ports but it wasn't up close."

Yuyan paused and said, as quietly as possible, "He has a pretty voice."

They exchanged looks with each other before shrugging and curling around Yuyan, whispering beneath their pillows and tangled among the silk sheets in the room they rented. The boys slept either in the inn or on the ship but they wouldn't be able to pry Yuyan open like the girls could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of remodelling Yi Ti to resemble China more (with jungles, rock forests, mountains, and generally a more diverse ecosystem because this is my story and these are my rules) and Leng is more similar to Vietnam/Thailand in ecosystem and developing culture.
> 
> And Yuyan is wearing an equivalent to an Ao Dai (from Leng).
> 
> Just know, I'm making it so the culture in Yin of Yi Ti similar to Han Chinese culture along with the ruling structure.
> 
> I have written a lot for this story. Everything but the build up which is the problem.

**Author's Note:**

> In this essay, we're saying "fuck you" to canon.


End file.
